After eighteen years of the frequently challenging daily task of parenting, I reached a milestone in my son’s life: He headed off to college. And he's not staying close to home. We live in Boulder, Colorado but he chose Pitzer College in Claremont, California, almost exactly 1,000 miles from home.

I lived in the dorms when I went to college many eons ago, but the increase in technology and electronics coupled with more participatory and attentive parenting has changed the dorm life experience quite a bit. College kids expect nicer housing amenities and parents demand it.

Still, dorm rooms are fundamentally small rooms where two kids who don’t know each other are stuck sharing the space and learning how to get along, even as they both figure out that college thing too.

Fortunately, Nite Ize had some great ideas for making the most out of those small dorm rooms and navigating the college experience. We pulled together a College Dorm Move-In Kit that contained lots of great products to help out with cable organization, bike safety, and recreation. Here’s a photo of my son on his dorm bed with the Kit spread out:

It wasn’t until he started trying to plug in his computer, phone charger, music speakers, voice speaker, lamp and other gadgets that he suddenly realized the great benefit of organizing all his cords. The Gear Ties worked great for that and ensured that he’d never accidentally unplug anything while sitting at the desk doing homework (or surfing the internet while not doing homework as it may be.)

We decided not to take his bicycle to campus on move-in, but it turns out that his dorm mate is a triathlete and has spare bikes, one of which he generously loaned to my son! The Radiant 125 bike lights are going to work great to keep them safe while biking around campus and the community at night, one on each of their bikes. And since they're rechargeable, there's no batteries to buy.

Of all the Nite Ize products, however, there’s no question that the one he was most excited about was the Flashflight. Being based in California means that the evenings are delightful, the students are outdoor minded, and everyone’s already good at tossing flying discs. With its light-up colors and smooth flight, Gareth’s sure to be the most popular guy on campus in no time with his Flashflight!

Move-in is done. He’s set up in his dorm room, wires organized and flashlight sitting by the bed in case of emergencies. His bike will be well illuminated and his charging cables now sport collars to make them more reliable. He’s even ready for late night outdoor recreation. Now the hard part: classes, studying and working towards his degree. I’m confident he’s going to do great!

Ben and Roxy are more than road warriors. They spend all day, every day traveling the country out of a custom van as part of the Elevation Outdoors Live Outside and Play Road Team. While taking the road less traveled, these two have developed clever ways to keep their rolling home organized, accessible, and ready to handle whatever bumps come their way.

The versatility of Gear Ties® have made these Reusable Rubber Twist Ties™ a vital part of their everyday lives. Colorful Gear Ties can be spotted throughout their van, illustrating numerous ways that Ben, Roxy, and their pup Henry have discovered solutions on the fly. From securing their refrigerator to creating impromptu storage, Ben and Roxy have a variety of ways that these everyday items have proved essential.

Whether you're traveling across the country or going for a short family road trip, check out the Live Outside and Play Road Team's favorite out-of-the-box ways to make long days in the car easier with Gear Ties.

When you live in a van in Colorado and the sun dips below the horizon, you have two options: Get in and enjoy that claustrophobic feeling of being in the same small space for far too many hours, or grab someNite Izeproducts and keep the fun going. With the fire ban stretching across the state, it’s easy to get discouraged after sunset in the backcountry. Without a fire to base evening debauchery around, what’s an outdoor enthusiast to do? Luckily, NiteIze has plenty of products to help keep you entertained. Check out some fun post-sunset products perfect for both humans and furry friends alike.

Fun for Humans

Nothing says “I’m keeping myself safe, but I’m here to party” quite like the SpokeLit LED Wheel Light from Nite Ize. The SpokeLit is an LED lighting accessory for all occasions. And we mean ALL OCCASIONS. You can select between six colors or leave it on the color changing Disc-O mode to keep you seen and safe with perfect side visibility while riding your bike. Biking home from work? SpokeLit. Biking to the bar on a Saturday night? SpokeLit. Biking across the desert at Burning Man? Definitely SpokeLit. This shock and weather-resistant light is super efficient and has a battery life of 20 hours (roughly the length of one REALLY GOOD party). In all honesty, it just makes riding your bike more fun. We’ve even used ours along with a headlamp while mountain biking at night. We usually select our color based on our mood… Which is almost always Disc-O mode.

When we’re backpacking we choose food with a high nutrition-to-weight ratio. When we’re in the van, we choose our toys with a high fun-to-size ratio. The Flashflight LED LightUp Flying Disc always makes the cut. The Flashflight is a LED Light Up flying disc designed by an Ultimate player to perform as beautifully as it looks. Weighing in at 185 grams, the Flashflight is our go-to for fun, whether we’re in the van or spending a night in the backcountry. The Flashflight is not only water-resistant but it floats, too! Nite Ize incorporated fiber optics as well as long-life LED lights into the Flashflight to make sure you can see it from every angle. Obviously, it’s great at night, but it was designed to fly like a high-quality flying disc and you’ll be reaching for it even during the day.

Fun for Dogs

We often play fetch with our van pooch after dark, and before the Huck ‘N Tuck Glowstreak Collapsible Thrower and LED Ball, we lost count of all of the tennis balls that were lost to the night. With the LED ball, and easy to store thrower, we can tire our puppy out every night after finding camp. The Huck ‘N Tuck thrower extends to two-feet long for long arching throws, and collapses down to 12 inches so it’s easy to store in the van. The motion-activated LED ball comes to life with a bounce against the ground or the first throw, and keeps glowing until it’s stationary for five minutes. You get five more minutes of the LED’s blinking before it turns off. This ensures you can find the ball even when your pup is done running. That strong little LED has 35 hours of glow time so you can play throughout the entire summer. The LED ball is molded, shockproof AND waterproof (and it floats!). This means if you have a pup that likes to swim, you can keep the water games going all night. The ball has ridges so it won’t slip as he makes his way back for another throw. It is also the same size as a tennis ball so it’s compatible with all throwers! Our dog has put this ball to the test, and it’s stood up to his slobber, chewing and his incredible ability to hide the ball from us when we’re done playing.

We have an adventure dog. He sprints along as we bike down singletrack, secures the perimeter every time we arrive at a new campsite, and scrambles up rock fields as we make our way to summits. This dog knows freedom and yearns to roam like the rest of us. When we arrive at camp, we instantly reach for the NiteHowl LED Safety Necklace. The collar is made up of flexible polymer which you trim down to fit your pup’s neck exactly. It comes in three different colors so you can easily distinguish between other dogs wearing the same collar. The button on the weather-resistant battery pack cycles you through solid lights, flashing and off. We use the flashing mode when walking through crowds at festivals to make sure our pup is seen, and so everyone else knows he’s ready to party. At campsites, we use the solid option so we can always spot him (and he’s still ready to party). Sometimes it’s catching glimpses of him sprinting through the trees around us, or as a glow reminder he’s curled up next to our camp chair snoozing once he’s partied out.

Thoughts on Innovation, the Nite Ize way.

We have over 400 innovative problem/solution based products that appeal to anyone who has ever faced a daily frustration and found that perfect product to solve their problem. Whether you are into the latest tech products, love to walk your dog, enjoy hunting & fishing, biking with your family, or just love a helpful gadget, we hope that you will find a Nite Ize product that makes your life easier, safer and more fun – night and day! We love to share stories & ideas with our friends and customers. Enjoy!